Free to discuss Harry Potter

Dave finally finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night. Yeah! We're free to discuss.

If only the book had been released on July 20 instead of July 21. We could have bought it at the Sydney airport and read it the whole day in transit back to Chicago. Instead, we bought it Saturday morning -- a hardcover copy for me and an audio copy for Dave.

Despite my jetlag (or maybe because of it), I had the book finished by Sunday night, but had to wait until last night to discuss the ending with Dave. It was difficult to wait. Every time he'd rant that so-and-so had better not die, I'd have to give a non-committal answer. Every time he complained that the story seemed a little slow, I'd have to content myself with a simple, "Just you wait. It'll get really good."

What was nice, though, was all week as Dave would listen to his audio version, I would get to listen along and "re-read" much of the second half of the book. I could relish the retelling.

I'm sad that the franchise is over, but content with how J.K. Rowling ended it.

News accounts say Rowling is developing two different books right now, a children's book and an adult book, neither in the Harry Potter universe. I can't help but wish that she'd get those other projects finished then return to Harry's world. Teddy Lupin seems like the perfect character to re-enter the universe with...